Will BJP finally elect a woman President? Nirmala Sitharaman, two others in contention to replace JP Nadda
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is electing presidents of its state units—a process that will lead to the election of the saffron party’s new national president, replacing JP Nadda.
Since its internal polls started last year, the party has elected ten new state heads and held elections for 28 states and union territories.
Nadda, who is also the Union Health Minister, has held the party’s national president post since 2020. His term ended in 2023, but the BJP extended it till 2024 so he could steer the party through the Lok Sabha elections.
The election of the national president will be conducted only after the successful completion of elections in key states like Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Delhi, and Haryana, among others.
As the suspense about the BJP’s new president, some reports suggested that the BJP might pick a woman leader for the top post. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is the top contender for the post, according to a report by India Today. D Purandeswari and Vanathi Srinivasan are the other two names. LiveMint couldn’t confirm the names.
Nirmala Sitharaman
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently met with BJP President JP Nadda and party General Secretary BL Santhosh at the party headquarters in New Delhi. According to the India Today report, Sitharaman’s name has gained considerable traction within the party, with many citing her cabinet experience and organisational depth.
Another advantage of Sitharaman is her connection with the South. As the Saffron Party’s first woman president, she can perhaps help strengthen the party’s presence in southern India.
Sitharaman, as the party’s national president, would also support the BJP’s commitment to the proposed 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha, which is expected to come into effect after the next delimitation exercise. Sitharaman is a Rajya Sabha member. She has never won an election.
Before becoming Finance Minister, Sitharaman was the country’s Defence Minister and is among BJP’s high-profile faces in the Union Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
If chosen to be the President of BJP, Sitharaman would perhaps
D Purandeswari
Daggubati Purandeswari, the former Andhra Pradesh state president of BJP, is also in consideration for the top post, according to the report. Purandeswari is sister-in-law of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and is known for her multilingual proficiency and cross-party political experience.
Naidu’s wife, Nara Bhuvaneswari, and Purandeswari are sisters.
Purandeswari has served as Minister of State in the Ministry of Human Resource Development in 2009 and MoS in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in 2012. Purandeswari won the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 from Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh by over 2.3 lakh votes.
Purandeswari name was also making rounds for the post of speaker after 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.
Vanathi Srinivasan
Srinivasan is a lawyer-turned-politician from Tamil Nadu. She is an MLA from the Coimbatore South seat and has been with the BJP since 1993. Srinavasan has also been State Secretary, General Secretary, and Vice President of the party’s Tamil Nadu unit.
Sitharaman’s name has gained considerable traction within the party, with many citing her cabinet experience and organisational depth.
In 2020, she was appointed National President of the BJP Mahila Morcha, and in 2022, she made history as the first Tamil woman to join the BJP’s Central Election Committee.
